Sunday, October 18, 2009

This month I want to share with you two wonderful Handmade Artisans who define the term.

First up is Tiffany Brotherton. A graduate in Fine Arts from Missouri State University, she got hooked after taking a class by Sarah Perkins, a wonderful designer in her own right. Tiffany is a tool junkie and tends to be inspired by natural forms, flower and plants. "...they are a never ending source of fascination for me." she says. Her jewelry tends to be very sculptural and distinct as wearable art as you can see in her shop, Zoebe, on Artfire .She advises new designers to experiment with their work and more importantly, document all your steps in notebooks "...so that you can remake something exactly rather than making it from memory."

Tiffany and her fiancé live in a house full of animals including 2 dog and 4 cats ranging in age from 3 months to 20 years. She says they really love the furry ones.

Tiffany is offering free shipping from now through Novemver 30th and a 10% discount for anyone who reads this blog. Just enter coupon code: MIKIBLOG at checkout.

Our next artisan is Marcella Hogg who creates adorable clothes and accessories for babies. I can't wait until I'm a graunty and hope she's still making them when that time comes. Marcella got into her addiction when her daughter turned 3 this past March. She started making tutus and selling them on Craigslist. Wiser heads advised her to go to Etsy and The Little Ballerina was born.

The rest, as they say, is history and it's still being made. From tutus to clippies to beautiful boy T's, you can see her high quality and loving detail in every stitch. Her inspiration are her children. Three of them all under the age of 3! As expected, she doesn't have as much spare time as she'd like. It usually consists of naptime and nighttime which is when she can get her bows and tutus done in relative peace and quiet.

Marcella suggests that new businesses starting out need to do a lot of promoting. "It took me awhile to get some sales, about a month for my first one." With 3 young children I wonder where she finds time to promote, let alone make all those adorable items. For now, let's hope she continues and even expands her craft. A very talented, and tired woman, mention this blog at checkout, and Marcella will give you 10% off any purchase from her shop!